Corporate Responsibility

In-a-city

Our cities are becoming crowded. Creating space is a tricky issue. We don’t believe it’s practical or necessary to eliminate car travel. We don’t believe that’s what people want. But we do think it’s possible to encourage a major switch to public transport to free up some room. Room to breathe. Room to move. And a greater quality of life for the people that live and visit there.

The trick is to make it simple, safe and economic for people to use low-carbon alternatives more of the time. The reward would be quieter and less congested streets, greater personal safety and cleaner air for everyone.

Having the right vehicles is the first step in encouraging change. Electric vehicles have the potential to become carbon-neutral if they use renewable
energy. In the West Midlands our Midland Metro service was the first light rail system to use “green tariff” electricity, making it effectively emissions free. In the future this could apply to trains, whose performance depends on the carbon intensity of the national grid.

Replacing diesel vehicles with zero carbon alternatives is more challenging. We expect hybrids to be standard by 2020 and we could be using sustainably-produced biofuels from sources such as algae. We also hope to be using fuel cell technology across buses, coaches and trains even if the source of hydrogen is not fully renewable by this stage.

Innovation is key to changing people’s travel habits and new services such as commuter coaches, on-demand airport transfers and light rail services are already extending the appeal of public transport. Changing demographics are also shifting the focus, with an increased emphasis on providing the right transport option for all: shop mobility services, convenient transport for the elderly and school buses that ensure children reach school in safety.

Of course, it’s not just about vehicles and services. We also need to ensure
we are investing in the technology to make journey planning simpler. At National Express we have already brought our UK operations under one
brand, with one website. We are now working on a way for people to book
one ticket for their entire journey.

Ticketing should be simpler with single tickets recognised by all. E-tickets to print at home or m-tickets direct to mobile are already here in some areas, they provide exactly the convenience people need. Add to this real-time information about when their bus or train will arrive and the journey starts to become seamless.

We’re also looking at stations with fresh eyes. We want them to sit at the
heart of their community – a meeting place for low carbon modes of transport. The station of the near future will be sustainable – using onsite renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power. Access is also critical, people need to feel safe getting to and from their station. So, whether their connection is on foot, by bike or by bus or coach, we are working on better integration with other transport modes.

We also want to improve the public transport experience, with improved food and drink, free wi-fi, and power charging for phones and laptops as standard. Public transport should be truly public, and open to all – which means better accessibility, and feeder services from remoter areas. People need to feel safe on public transport, which means a brighter lighting; better security in stations and on trains and vehicles; more trains running later and intelligent, interactive CCTV.

Of course if we want consumers to give higher priority to public transport it needs higher priority in public planning. That means dedicated priority measures: from extra bus lanes to intelligent traffic lights that recognise high-occupancy vehicles and give them priority. It means better demand management, through schemes such as congestion charge zones. It also means working with city councils to create partnership schemes which recognise the needs of the population and put these at the top of the agenda.